Concussion (2015)

Concussion stars Will Smith and the film is based on an article by GQ magazine article entitled Game Brain by Jeanne Marie Laskas.  In the film, Will Smith portrays Pittsburg coroner Bennet Omalu.  Omalu is an accomplished man of science who is tasked with examining the deceased body of Pittsburg center and football legend Mike Webster (David Morse) following his suicide.  What Omalu finds along with audiences is that while initial CAT scans reveal nothing abnormal about Webster, his brain had in fact been damaged in a way that Webster, as a center would be taking many blows to the head over the course of his career, Omalu concluded that the numerous blows caused the erratic change of behavior.  What followed after that is an intense battle much larger than any competition waged on a football field involving the acceptance or denial of medical evidence of brain damage caused by NFL players hitting each other in the NFL.

Concussion is the type of film that succeeds or fails based on whether an actor can deliver the story with conviction and honesty.  Will Smith in this film gives perhaps the best performance of his career.  He gives a very restrained and direct performance and the only major distraction in watching the film is that when Smith is arguing with someone some of the vocal ticks he is commonly known for appear in the character thus taking energy away from what is supposed to be a powerful moment.  Smith is supported by a stellar cast but special mention should be given to Albert Brooks as Dr. Cyril Wecht.  Brooks infuses Wecht with a lot of humor and kindness toward Omalu as Omalu courageously works to prove that Mike Webster did not commit suicide. Wecht provides Omalu with any technology he may need in order to prove his brain injury theory and that support by Wecht goes a long way to not only make the movie medically accurate but also fun.

The most intriguing section of the film occurs when other NFL players start to exhibit similar erratic and commit suicide.  While the body count growing does add tension, the movie was smart to focus on Omalu’s frustration in getting the NFL.  The ways the NFL choose to respond to Omalu feel realistic but also undercut the achievements of the coroner.  The NFL views the fact that they have so much viewership and literally own specific days of the week as reason enough to not believe Omalu.  The other interesting angle the story tapped into is the reaction of the fans of football to the medical finding which is eventually named Chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE.

This film is great because even though it has star power behind its lead performance, the story of what happened with Dr. Omalu and the national football league takes precedence over the fluff of who the star is.  Concussion is not just a movie that needs to be seen, it’s vital information for anyone who plays the sport of football professional or not.  Concussion left me reeling in the best way possible, I just hope it has the same effect on audiences.